Something upsetting

[Addie]

Am I the only one who finds that when I see a shot of the World Trade Center Towers on TV, it really upsets me?

The openiing shot of Friends show it in all it glory. And any show filmed in NY prior to the attack often show them. Because two of the planes took off from Boston, it has left us with a guilt complex. I have one more private reason for feeling guilty.

I was living in Everett at the time. My next door neighbor was a Palestinian. His wife and I used to share an outdoor clothline. He drove a cab. Then one day his wife and children weren't there anymore. Then the cab was no longer being parked out front every night. I asked his landlord, Mr. Ali who lived on the first floor. He too is a Palestinian. The cab driver had sent his wife back to the old country. He said that she wasn't happy here. Three months later the attack on the towers happened. A day or so later there was a picture in the newspaper of one of the terrorist who flew one of the planes. It was my neighbor. During the time the cab was missing, he was in Florida learning to fly. He had sent his family out of harms way of the government because he knew what his mission was going to be.

Three weeks later the FBI, INS and other Govt. agencies raided the landloards business and home at 7 a.m. He had been providing some of the funds for the attack. They were looking for financial records. Like who would be so stupid to keep financial records of a possible attack and declaration of war against the United States.

All this time every time I see The Towers, I can't help wondering if I missed something in my conversations with my neighbor and his landlord that would have foretold of what was to come. Maybe someday I can come to terms with this. But for now, I still keep wondering and getting upset everytime I see those towers.

 

[tinlizzie]

Good grief, Addie! And those towers show up in such unexpected shots. The silly movie I watched last night called "Mars Attacks" had a long view of the NY skyline with the towers.

I'm afraid some of the things that register so strongly in our brains will always be there, no matter how we try to erase them.

 

[jabbur]

I feel sad when I see them in movies but it is usually fleeting. Shortly after 9-11 I was watching Godspell. They filmed part of that movie on the rooftop of one of the towers. At the time the movie was filmed, the towers weren't completed and open yet. That was really kind of sad.

 

[jabbur]

You know Addie, you can NOT blame yourself for not picking up on things before hand. The idea of something like that happening was not on anyone's radar in the real world. It wasn't even very high up in the foreign intelligence world either! Now that we are more sensitized to the way terrorists work, you might have been more suspicious. We always tend to think people from other countries are here in the US because they want to be here for the freedoms and opportunities available to them, not because they want to cause us harm. The attacks on that day changed us in a lot of ways and not always for the better IMO.

 

[roadfix]

I had this eerie feeling when watching 'Man On Wire' a few weeks ago, story about the French guy who illegally tight-roped between the twin towers just about the time the towers were completed back in the 70's.

 

[Vanilla Bean]

I know what you mean, Addie. They are showing reruns of the sitcom, "King of Queens" on a couple different networks, here. There have been a couple of times I have seen the towers. It bugs me, because I used to work with a lady who's daughter was a flight attendant on 175. I remember that day very well.

 

[Kayelle]

Good golly Addie, I can see why you feel the way you do since you actually had personal contact with one of the monsters. I would be haunted by that too, even though you had no way of seeing the future, it's understandable it would wear on your mind.
Four weeks after the tragedy my late husband and I flew out of Logan airport bound for Los Angles at the same time of day. Sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off, my thoughts were of those a few weeks earlier who were also bound for California and ended up flying into one of the towers. No, we will never forget.

 

[pacanis]

I am upset when I DON'T see them And mad.

 

[Addie]

Good golly Addie, I can see why you feel the way you do since you actually had personal contact with one of the monsters. I would be haunted by that too, even though you had no way of seeing the future, it's understandable it would wear on your mind.
Four weeks after the tragedy my late husband and I flew out of Logan airport bound for Los Angles at the same time of day. Sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off, my thoughts were of those a few weeks earlier who were also bound for California and ended up flying into one of the towers. No, we will never forget.

Kayelle, you just gave me the word I have been looking for all these years. "Haunted." Everytime I see those towers or think about it I get upset and sometimes I start crying. What bothers me the most is that he sent his family home but destroyed so many others. I always said Hi to him and his wife. One day I grabbed his little one as she was heading for the street. I get so angry when I think of how nice I was to them. Enough. I need to put this behind me for the night.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Terrible, terrible tragedy. But seeing photos recently of the new trade center being built says a lot about our fortitude. It's an inspiring looking structure.

Addie, I'm curious. Which of the 911 hijackers was your neighbor? I don't see where any of them were Palestinian. Wikipedia says all but two were Saudi, and the other two were Lebanese and Egyptian.

 

[Addie]

Terrible, terrible tragedy. But seeing photos recently of the new trade center being built says a lot about our fortitude. It's an inspiring looking structure.

Addie, I'm curious. Which of the 911 hijackers was your neighbor? I don't see where any of them were Palestinian. Wikipedia says all but two were Saudi, and the other two were Lebanese and Egyptian.

I just knew him as Mohamed. (sp) Mr. Ali, his landlord said that he came from his country. And I knew he was Palestinian. There were pictures of Palestine on the walls of his sub shop. He used to go there every year to visit family. His daughter's name was the same as mine. Adele. Living next door, our mail always got mixed up. I could never pronounce his wife's name. He was he pilot of the American Airliines plane that hit Tower One.

I am not one to aks questions. And when they can't speak English very well, all the more I just sit there and pretend to listen. Some times Mr. Ali's daughter would have to tell me what they were saying.

 

[Addie]

911: Hijacker


If you want to know what he looked like his picture is on the bottom. He is the one with the square face and thick hair. He is on the right. He piloted the American Airline Flight 11 that hit the first tower.

 

[Addie]

Steve, what can I say. All I know is what the FBI told me. They even came into my home and looked out my kitchen window right into the apartment where he lived. They saw the clothesline we shared. Asked did I have any problems sharing it. There was more than one visit. They even showed me the picture you saw. They went into the apartment he lived in. They were there for several hours tearing things apart. They even tore the cabinets off the wall. I could see right out my kitchen window what they were doing as there was no covering on the windows in that apartment. That apartment was laid out exactly like mine. I wasn't the only one in the neighborhood that they talked to. But other than his landlord Mr. Ali, I was the only one who ever talked to him or his wife. I even told them what Mr. Ali had told me about him. Whether it was all lies, I don't know. Only what Mr. Ali told me. The FBI wasn't too forthcoming with too much information. They did thank me profusely. Told me what a good citizen I was. They also came back when they raided Mr. Ali's home and business. Again more questions. Since his daughter lived in the building in back of the store, they arrested her and held her over night with her husband and oldest son. He was born in Palestine. Her other children were American citizens and young.